Review season. You start your career thinking the review is the most important milestone of the year, but as an individual, you only see part of the picture. Everyone cares about the compensation (base salary, bonus, and stock). That’s the data they care about, but where did this pile of compensation come from? Who decided… more
I will now explain why at least 50% of your team finds your current All Hands to be a waste of their time. They believe: Now, I will describe how to build an All Hands that will exceed their expectations. Let’s define the All Hands: Everyone. Together. There’s an important organizational inflection point when you… more
Welcome, new leader. We’re glad that you are here. Your arrival fills a critical vacancy in our team, and we can’t wait to see what you can do at this company. We’re going to say that we’re not in a hurry and you should take your time, but we’re in a hurry. Before you arrive,… more
Coffee in hand, I sit down in the Cave. Any Tuesday during the work week, a sip, and I parse the calendar. 1:1 — he’s fine. Status meeting — listen. Staff meeting — read the notes from last week. Exec review — figure out the biggest fire, have a defensible opinion. Wait — Mark Team… more
I wrote a piece a long time ago about The Wolf. It’s my personal take on the mythical 10x engineer, except that they aren’t a myth. They exist. I’ve seen them. Many of them. The article was popular. With hindsight, I determined two populations cared about the piece and one who did not. One was… more
I am of the opinion that when you start a new role, not a new job, a new role that you have not done before, it requires a minimum of three years to become good or competent at that role. This window of acclimation grows with the complexity of the role. I’d suggest that while… more
Awkward. Seven of us now. Sitting around the table. Five minutes since the start of the meeting. We’ve used up our chit-chat allowance and wonder if you will show. In the scheme of things relevant to a company’s success, showing up late to a meeting is not the end of the world. When it happens… more
Why Are We Here? Seems like a good set of people, but everyone is looking at each other, wondering what is happening. It’s nefarious; it’s just.. confusing and agenda-less. Why Am I Here? It seems like a good set of people, but I have no clue how I’m relevant to this meeting. I will sit… more
I’ve received some of the best advice from folks I’m trying to forget. It’s usually past mediocre managers. Average folks doing the job, but in an uninspired fashion, in over their heads, or just coasting for reasons I never understood. Every so often. They land an idea. Maybe I don’t hear it at the time… more
First Circle: THE SLOPPY AND THE UNPREPARED Meetings start late and run over. Attendees have not read the pre-supplied material, so we spend most of the time answering questions we had already answered elsewhere. Second Circle: THE DISTRACTED Meetings where attendees are not paying attention to the meeting. They sit there on their phones and… more
